Today I visited the soon to be opened Pinks Reserve Regional netball facility. The President of the Lilydale and Yarra Valley Netball Association Toni Madden and local players joined me to look at the 24 court shelters that have been federally funded following my election pledge last year.

At the last election I pledged funding of $45,000 towards the construction of these netball change facilities. This funding has been delivered. Together with the $41,000 of funding provided by Council, work on the change rooms is now well underway. The construction is taking place at the Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE. It was great to drop in and see the progress to date. This will be the last netball season that our Mt Evelyn players are without change rooms. All of us, particularly the netballers, look forward to the completion of the project and the installation and opening of the change rooms at Mt Evelyn towards the end of this year or early next year before the 2015 Season start.

It was an honour to welcome the Speaker of the House of Representatives, The Hon Bronwyn Bishop MP, to Casey this week. The Lilydale Chamber of Commerce hosted a breakfast at Platinum Restaurant which was addresses by the Speaker and myself. The Speaker covered a range of issues including the importance of enterprise, community and small business. Students at Bayswater North Primary School and Oxley College were also paid a visit. The Speaker spoke to students, teachers and parents about her role as Speaker, the importance of community leadership, and encouraged young people to strive towards fulfilling their personal potential. Students enthusiastically took the opportunity to ask questions and discuss a wide range of issues with the most senior female office holder in Australia’s Parliament.

On Tuesday, I was honoured to speak at the unveiling of a plaque at Montrose War Memorial, at an event organised by the Rotary Club of Montrose and District to honour former Montrose resident Major Charles Morris. Major Charles Morris served at the Fort situated at Point Nepean Heads. On the morning of 5 August 1914, Major Morris ordered a warning shot be fired across the bow of German steamer, the Pfalz. This shot, having occurred just hours after war was declared in Europe, is acknowledged as the first shot fired in the First World War. At this event I spoke of the importance of remembering those Montrose residents who served in the First World War. Three of the twenty listed on the Montrose memorial died in active service, all of them young men in their twenties and all were killed in action in France: Frederick Davies - killed in…